“I didn’t want to pursue wrestling in the first place. It took me about a year to decide whether or not I wanted to do this. The reason I say that is because I had other things going on for me. I have a career in acting… and then obviously training in martial arts with Sensei Benny (Urquidez), I already had a lot going on and I didn’t know if I would be able to take that up. The reason why is I didn’t want it to be too much for me at that time; I was taking one career at a time. I don’t know; I just made the decision to go to the auditions and just try it out and see if it was something that I would enjoy. It came very naturally to me obviously when I first did it, so I was like ‘Man, this is up my alley! This is what I want to do.’ ”

* How did you get involved in Women of Wrestling (WOW)?

“I saw them online, and they posted a notice for casting; they were looking for females 18-30, and they said they were looking for WOW Superheroes. When I first saw WOW, I thought “World of Warcraft”, and I’m like ‘Wow, why are they casting for WOW?’. It took a few minutes to find out it was for wrestling. I went to their auditions and that was it. They just called me up and said to come in for training on this date and at this time, and I took it all from there.”

* There was an incident at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest last August in Charlotte where you were wrestling a training match and the guy you were wrestling ended up busting your head open. What were the details of what happened?

“The guy was given specific instructions to do a three-minute training match for the fans, and he went against all the instructions that he was given. He roughed me up. I didn’t complain, because I needed to stay professional, but if we were somewhere else, if that was a different kind of ring and all those people weren’t there, he would have gotten his. I was ready to give it, but Tom Pritchard stopped it because I started bleeding. Everything he did was wrong, and he knew it, and in a weird way I felt like some people were in on it; I don’t know why…I might be wrong, but the whole thing didn’t make sense to me. I’m not one to point my finger, but it just didn’t feel right; it felt like there was something more to it than I can really prove.”

* What do you think is the most important characteristic to have to really make it as a female wrestler?

“I think it’s the total package, if you ask me. It’s a very cosmetic business at the same time, so you definitely need to look the part…but generally you have to have it all. You have to look good, you have to be hard working, you have to be smart, you have to be athletic; but I don’t know. That’s what I feel; I’m just telling you how I would do it…I think that for the most part they look for the total package, and if you’re it, then you’re it.”

Other topics discussed included:
* How did she meet Leilani Kai?
* How different is the training from MMA and professional wrestling?
* Where did her nickname “The Gamer” come from?
* Once she got into wrestling, were there certain female wrestlers that she would watch tapes of and would inspire her?
* Are there any women on TV or in the Independents that she would like to work with?
* What is her finishing move?

Tatevik can be found on social media at http://www.facebook.com/wowtatevik

This interview is available for listening at http://www.iyhwrestling.com/viewnews.php?autoid=23962 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXjZ1xGLDM